They Don't Teach Corporate in College (20 page)

Master the work social scene.
In your first month, aim to know a little about a lot of people rather than the other way around. Once you're established in the department, make personal connections with potential work friends.

Understand the different types of friendships.
Know that there are differences between close friends, who will be there for you through life's tough times, and work friends, with whom you hang out while you're stuck in the same building. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

Expand your business networks.
Business networking is a valuable tool to gain information, increase your visibility in your field, and establish relationships that will help you move forward in your career. Seek out new contacts and potential mentors whom you like and admire, as well as those whose interests you share.

At 22, I had been an overachiever all my life. Naturally, I expected to experience success beyond my wildest dreams at my first company. I was going to go in there and kick the corporate world's ass. As soon as they saw what I was made of, I was sure they'd make me the company's youngest vice president. I put so much pressure on myself to know everything right away that I nearly collapsed under the weight of my own unrealistic expectations.

Your first jobs are not meant to be the be-all and end-all of career stardom. How can you master the skills it takes to get ahead without putting in any time in the trenches? That's like saying you could win an Olympic gold medal in swimming without learning to doggie paddle first. Look at your first post-college positions as temporary stops on your career path instead of permanent ones. You are getting paid to learn everything you can so that snagging the
next job isn't quite as challenging. This chapter will describe how to make the most out of your first job, knowing that you probably won't stay there forever. I'll start by sharing how you can set goals that further your personal mission. Next, I'll discuss strategies for adding value to your company, including how to better understand your business, how to come up with new ideas and sell them in your organization, and how to promote your successes. Finally, I'll advise you how to develop critical career skills such as risk-taking and problem-solving, which will be useful no matter where you go or what you do. As you're reading, imagine your current organization as a training ground to practice everything I cover.

My first job at a nonprofit organization was nothing like I thought it would be. My responsibilities didn't remotely resemble what we discussed in the interview. I was eager to be out in the field helping people. Instead, I was stuck behind a desk every day. I was really depressed until I asked myself, “What can I take away from this that will help me get where I want to go?” When I took a step back, I realized that I first had to understand the mechanics of how a nonprofit works—and I wouldn't be able to learn that out in the field. I had to spend time doing exactly what I was doing.

Tamika, 24, Washington, D.C.

Let's be realistic. Most junior-level jobs in the professional world have a low glamour factor. As I talked about briefly in
Chapter 2
, twenty-somethings are often required to pay their dues regardless of their education, and there's a chance your responsibilities have nothing to do with what the interviewer promised. I'm willing to bet that they're more administrative, less creative, and less empowering. This situation can be frustrating, especially if you're used to accomplishing much in a short period of time. You'll be much happier if you look at your time on the bottom rung as an opportunity, instead of lamenting the tragic turn your once-promising life has taken. Keep in mind what's really important to you and use this situation to acquire valuable skills and experience that will take you there. The easiest way to do this is to set specific, reasonable, and attainable goals for your present position that correspond to your long-term career strategy.

In his book
Getting Promoted: Real Strategies for Advancing Your Career
, Harry Chambers defines goal-setting as a positive statement that proclaims your expectations of growth and achievement. You want your goals to motivate you rather than discourage you, so they shouldn't be too ambitious. Instead, make them just tough enough so that you'll stay involved, constantly putting forth effort and reaching for that brass ring. Devise meaningful career goals by considering the following:

What you're going to do.

Why you want to do it and how it furthers your personal agenda.

When you're going to do it.

How you'll know when you've done it, and how you'll measure your success.

For example, a few years ago, I set the following goal for leveraging my present job responsibilities to further my big-picture agenda:

Current Role:
Work with Web conferencing company to coordinate weekly conference calls between the New York and UK offices

Big-Picture Agenda:
Serve as the lead on a global PR account team

Goal:
Master protocol for conducting global account team status calls